Over the last few years, I’ve discovered that I enjoy cooking. I love trying new recipes and learning what different ingredients do to a dish. I particularly love cooking for family and friends.
But lately, I’ve been in survival mode due to my health (plus having an energetic almost-two-year-old!). I spent weeks feeling guilty about feeding my husband and daughter the same few dishes over and over, despite the fact that they are dishes that they both love and that my husband has never once complained.
It stems mostly from pride; I am a perfectionist who is always wanting to do things well, not necessarily for the sake of good work but because it feeds my ego. Chronic illness, ever a teacher of humility, is forcing me to be different.
When we’re in a difficult season of life, we need easy wins. Giving my family the same rotation of four or five reasonably healthy meals is an easy win. It’s one that we all can enjoy. And while I am kind of bored with cooking those same meals, I don’t usually have the energy to do anything more complicated. I know that will change, and I look forward to developing cooking as a hobby more in the future.
For now, though, we’ll be eating lots of spaghetti.
What I’ve Been Writing:
Another Gospel reflection for CatholicMom, this time on Matthew 28:16-20 (verse 20 is one of my favorite verses in all of Scripture). I’d forgotten that I wrote this one, so when I read the Gospel reflection as usual that morning, I kept thinking, “Wow, this is really resonating with me” … only to realize at the end, when I saw the byline, that it resonated with me because it was written by me.
Content I Liked This Week:
This piece in the New York Times on chronic pain contained nothing new to me, but it’s a good primer for anyone who’s unfamiliar with the issues surrounding diagnosis and treatment of chronic pain conditions.
I like everything about this Aleteia article on teatime, leisure, and the gift of life. (Indeed, it’s written by Sister Maria Frassati, a Sister of Life.)
Alexandra Cook wrote a fantastic article for us at Catholic Women in Business on how and why Catholic business leaders should support working parents.
This Romper article by Ingrid Chen McCarthy (a chef who lives not far from me) highlights the important issue of postpartum anxiety.
Along similar lines, this Verily article on matresence by Grace Babineau was a beautiful look at how motherhood changes us for the better—on a spiritual but also a neurological level.
Books I’m Enjoying:
I finished Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age*, by Katherine May. I enjoyed it but finished it wishing it had been a little more substantial. The writing was lovely, and there was one part in particular that I’m planning to write a blog post reflecting on—but it wasn’t meaty enough for me. It was more artistic than helpful, and I tend to like a good mix of those two qualities.
I just started Thomas Curran’s The Perfection Trap: Embracing the Power of Good Enough, which I’ll be reviewing for Catholic Women in Business (it comes out August 8 and is available for preorder*). I am thoroughly enjoying it so far.
*Affiliate link